(CP) SAN FRANCISCO – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and executives from Microsoft, AMD, and CoreWeave warned Congress Thursday that the USA must act quickly to maintain its lead over China in artificial intelligence development, urging lawmakers to streamline regulations and boost infrastructure investment as Beijing aims to dominate global AI technology by 2030.
“I believe this will be at least as big as the internet, maybe bigger,” Altman told senators during a hearing that showcased rare bipartisan agreement on the need to secure America’s technological edge. Microsoft President Brad Smith and AMD Chief Executive Lisa Su joined Altman in cautioning that export controls must be carefully designed to prevent pushing global markets toward Chinese AI alternatives. Su specifically warned that if American companies cannot “have our technology adopted in the rest of the world, there will be other technologies that will come to play,” directly challenging U.S. influence on the technological map of the future. The executives unanimously pointed to Texas as a model for incentivizing major AI projects, with Altman highlighting the massive Stargate data center being built in Abilene that he predicted would become “the largest AI training facility in the world.”
The testimony sparked debate over energy requirements for AI development, with Republicans questioning whether sustainable energy policies hinder infrastructure growth and Democrats criticizing Trump administration cuts to research funding. A Department of Energy report estimates that electricity needed for U.S. data centers tripled over the past decade and could consume up to 12% of the nation’s electricity by 2028, underscoring the enormous resources required to power next-generation AI systems that will reshape the economic map of the USA and transform industries from manufacturing to healthcare.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz framed the issue as a pivotal moment, asking whether America would embrace “our history of entrepreneurial freedom and technological innovation” or “adopt the command and control policies of Europe.” Despite partisan differences on specific policies, lawmakers from both parties agreed on the fundamental goal of maintaining American leadership in what Democratic Senator Brian Schatz described as more than just a commercial race, stating: “We’re trying to win a race so that American values prevail.” The high-stakes competition between the USA and China extends beyond economic interests to fundamental questions about which nation’s approach to technology – and the values embedded within it – will shape the global future of artificial intelligence.